Meaning of “oscillate” in the English Dictionary

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"oscillate" in English

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oscillateverb [ I ]

uk ​ /ˈɒs.ɪ.leɪt/ us ​ /ˈɑː.səl.eɪt/

› to move repeatedly from one position to another:

The needle on the dial oscillated between full and empty.

› formal If you oscillate between feelings or opinions, you change repeatedly from one to the other:

My emotions oscillate between desperation and hope.

› specialized physics (of a wave or electric current) to change regularly in strength or direction

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

oscillation
noun [ C or U ] uk ​ /ˌɒs.ɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ us ​ /ˌɑː.səlˈeɪ.ʃən/ formal or specialized

(Definition of “oscillate” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"oscillate" in American English

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oscillateverb [ I ]

us ​ /ˈɑs·əˌleɪt/

› to move repeatedly from side to side or up and down between two points, or to vary between two states or amounts, or feelings or opinions:

She oscillates between cooperation and hostility.
oscillation
noun [ C/U ] us ​ /ˌɑs·əˈleɪ·ʃən/

›

Mealtimes strongly influence this daily oscillation in blood sugar, or glucose, concentrations.

(Definition of “oscillate” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"oscillate" in Business English

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oscillateverb [ I ]

uk ​ /ˈɒsɪleɪt/ us ​

› to move repeatedly from one position to another:

oscillate between sth and sth The stock has spent most of the past five years oscillating between $3 and $5.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 2.4%, having oscillated wildly throughout the week.
oscillation
noun [ C or U ]

›

a long period of oscillation between profit and loss

(Definition of “oscillate” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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